Broken Promises and Mended Hearts
by tiger002
Summary: The Christmas after a divorce is hard for any family. The Martins are no exception.
1. Chapter 1

**Pre A/N: **You might be wondering why this is being uploaded again... Well, I was moving my sister's story to her account, but I accidentally deleted this one instead. Whoops... Sorry for spamming you those who have me an author alert

**A/N:** Originally, I had planned to submit this as a one-shot to this year's Christmas/holiday one-shot collection, but as I wrote it, it ended up a lot longer than I planned, so I'm also going to post it on my profile as a multi-chapter fic. It will also be in the collection on Snap's profile as the one-shot version

I've had a lot of fun writing this, it's been a nice break from my usual adventure and comedy stories. I also learned a lot about the characters as I wrote this having to think deeper as I wrote them here than normal. I also learned a few things about myself while writing this too…

Also, some of you might have known that there was a big debate on whether the collection should allow multi-chapter fics, but I want to make it clear that this is meant as no offense to those who set that rule. I'm going to submit it there as a one-shot, but thought it would nice to have this format as well.

And finally, This is a song fic to Justin Bieber's song, "Down to Earth." Yes, a fan of rock and metal music is using a JB song. Who says I can't only like one type of music :) _Italics _are lyrics, and **bold** is dates.

**December 23 2001**

_I never thought that it'd be easy,  
Cause we're both so distant now,  
And the walls are closing in on us and we're wondering how,_

A gentle winter's storm was falling upon the quaint city of New Haven, located about 30 miles north of Boston while two 10-year-old twins stood on the deck of their apartment watching the angel's sugar coat the roads below. A cool breeze blew snow off the railings into the younger twin's face, getting some of the freezing water through the cracks in the coat, causing him to dance around anxiously trying to get it out, but to no avail.

"What's wrong Cody?" his older brother asked.

"It's cold," he responded, giving up as much of the snow had melted.

"You know what's worse?"

"What?"

"Having someone pour snow down your shirt."

Before Cody could react to what Zack said, the older twin grabbed a large handful of snow and ran at his brother. Cody tried running to the door to get to the safety of the house and their mom, but Zack was too close and he quickly latched onto his brother with his free arm and poured the snow down Cody's back.

"Boys, time for dinner," Carey called from the kitchen before Cody to could properly retaliate.

"What's for dinner Mom?" Zack asked eagerly as he hung up his coat, careful not to make the tears in it any worse.

"Spaghetti," Carey replied as she brought the pot over to the table and got the toast out of the oven. They had been having that a lot recently as it was something simple to cook, also cheap, and both the twins enjoyed it.

"Okay you two be good," Carey said as she grabbed her car keys and went for the door.

"You're not eating with us again?" Cody asked pleadingly.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I have to work again tonight."

"That's okay Cody, we can still have fun together and then Dad will get here tomorrow."

Carey bit her lip not wanting to tell her kids about the call she had received that morning. She was hoping she could keep the news from them until they were ready, though in a situation like this, she knew that time would never come. "Dad…won't be coming," she finally announced.

"Huh?" Cody asked, looking up at his mom, sure he had misheard her.

"Dad won't be coming," Carey repeated, seeing her son's pure innocent eyes glance down, a liquid sheen forming around them and bound to break loose at any moment. "There was too much snow for the plane to make it," Carey explained, hoping her son would see the logic in the situation and that would hold his heart together before it fell apart.

"But the snow isn't that bad," Zack said with a shrug of his shoulders looking out as the flakes gently drifted down from the sky. "Especially for something as big as a huge airplane."

Carey sighed not sure of how to respond to something like this. She didn't have the time nor energy to explain to her sons that it wasn't the snow here, but in Chicago, and that just because a plane was big didn't mean snow couldn't stop it.

"So Dad's not coming?" Cody asked breaking Carey out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry sweetie," Carey ran her hand through her son's hair trying to comfort him, but to no avail. "Will you be okay while I go to work?"

"Okay," he said, trying to force a smile despite the sorrow building in him. He knew his mom had to work a lot and that he had to be a big boy without her being home so much. "Don't worry; I'll be fine."

_No one has a solid answer,  
but just walking in the dark,  
And I can see the look on your face,  
it just tears me apart._

A couple hours passed and the twins entertained themselves in their small room of the two bedroom apartment. They were playing one of their favorite games, Super Smash Brothers, and Zack was dominating his brother as always. However, after several matches, Zack noticed that he was winning without any effort.

"What's wrong Cody?"

"What do you mean?" the younger twin said as he switched characters, thinking it might give him a better chance against Zack. He was hoping that he could forget about his Dad's broken promise by immersing himself in this video game, but it wasn't working.

"I know my brother, he sucks at this game, but he at least puts up a fight when we play," Zack said with a no-nonsense tone.

"It's Dad," Cody said, resting his controller on his lap and looking down, an aura of tears covered his eyes and threatened to spill forth at the slightest provocation. The boy didn't want to cry in front of his big brother, he wanted to be tough like Zack, to be strong.

He wasn't though.

Zack looked to his twin, the dark sky filtering in through the window along with the multicolored Christmas lights strewn along the skyline. He didn't know what to say at a time like this; helping Cody when he was sad was a mom or a dad's job. He just didn't have a solid answer and that tore him apart.

_So we fight, (so we fight)  
Through the hurt, (through the hurt)  
And we cry and cry and cry and cry,  
And we live, (and we live)  
And we learn, (and we learn)  
And we try and try and try and try!_

"Cody," Zack said, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder, wishing he could just take his brother's pain away with a few simple words. The older boy sighed, hoping that those words would come to him, but they didn't, so he just went along with his jumbled up thoughts. "Don't be sad." He knew that was ridicules, he was devastated that his dad wasn't coming to see him, but Cody didn't need to know that.

"Why not?" Cody asked, gently placing his controller on the floor.

"Because Dad wouldn't want you to be sad just because he's not here." That sounded like something his mom would say, right?

However, Cody's expression remained unchanged.

Cody climbed into his bed, curled up in a ball by pulling his legs in and began to cry.

Zack looked on, powerless and defeated. His lip began quivering and soon he felt the tears building in his own eyes that he felt would soon flow like Cody's. He blinked, willing himself not to succumb to the same despair that was overtaking his brother. He needed to be strong for Cody; that was his job as the big brother.

_So it's up to you, (oh)  
And it's up to me, (yeah)  
And we meet in the middle, on our way back down to earth,  
Down to earth, down to earth, down to earth_

Zack walked over to Cody's bed and got on as well. He wrapped his arms around his brother, telling him he was there for him, even though he didn't have the words for him or any idea of what he should do in a time like this. Cody wrapped his arms around his brother, allowing his tears to run down his cheek and onto Zack's shoulder. The older twin gently patted his brother on the back "It's okay Cody. I won't leave you."

Through the pain and despair he was in, Cody felt a slight comfort that his brother was here for him. It didn't change the fact that his dad was half way across the country or the fact that his mom was always at work or too tired because of work to spend much time with him, but it was something.

Minutes passed, one after another, the twins ignorant to the continuous turning of the hands on the clock. They weren't sure when it happened, but they both found themselves succumbing to the gentleness of sleep, comforted by their brother beside them, knowing that no matter what, that wouldn't change. Their game continued to play in the background, waiting for them to pick up the controllers once again, though that would have to wait for morning.


	2. Chapter 2: Christmas Eve: Part 1

**December 24th 8:00AM**

_On our way back down to earth,  
Back down to earth._

Cody slightly stirred, feeling resistance from some object close to him that he knew normally wasn't there. He opened his eyes, sleep still clouding much of his vision so he couldn't figure out where he was. He noticed that he wasn't under the covers, yet there was a blanket sitting over him, and he was still wearing the same sweater from yesterday. After blinking a couple times, he turned to his side and saw his brother learning against him, Zack's arm still partly wrapped around his body.

Seeing Zack beside him, reminded the young boy of the previous night. They were playing video games and he was losing as always, and then he started to feel really sad about Dad not being able to make it for Christmas. He remembered crying, and then Zack trying to help, and then, even though he was still sad, he thought about how Zack made him feel better.

Cody glanced at the clock, seeing that it was already eight in the morning; had Zack really been with him all night? Was he really crying that badly, that he actually cried himself to sleep? What would Zack think of him now, probably that he was just the baby brother who cried whenever anything went wrong.

Shrugging off the thought, Cody got out from under the blanket he recognized as the one form his mom's bed, while still making sure Zack stayed asleep. Then again, it sometimes seemed like Zack could sleep through anything. Cody grabbed some clothes out of his closet and changed, the thought of wearing the same thing for 24 hours disturbed him for some reason. They were probably dirty, and he just didn't like being covered in the same things for too long.

After that, Cody made his way into the small living room wondering if his mom was up yet. He wasn't sure what time she got home from work the night before, but it wasn't uncommon for the twins to have already gone to bed when she got home and for her to be sleeping when they got up, especially when school was on break. The boy glanced down the short hallway, to discover there wasn't any light coming from her room, and then he heard the faint sound of her snoring, which came as no surprise to him.

He contemplated going back to his room and seeing if Zack was up and wanted to play video games with him, but decided his brother would get up when he was ready. Instead, he decided to go get his history textbook out of his backpack and try to read through another chapter so he could figure out what the other kids already knew. With them moving so often, he always seemed to be behind when they went to a new school.

He didn't like that though. Cody wasn't dumb, and he knew it. It was just that he didn't know the answers to the questions everyone else thought were easy. He'd show them that he was as smart as all of them, he just read the book and then he'd be the one to know all the answers. Then his teachers would be proud of him, then Mom would be proud of him, and then when Dad came back, he could show him all his good grades.

That was his plan, and it would work.

However, as he got to his backpack, his stomach began growling. Deciding studying could wait, he put the book down on the kitchen table and walked over to the cabinet to get some cereal. He grabbed a box of the corn flakes and after using the stool, he got a bowl down from the cabinet. One more thing he needed was milk, but when he opened the fridge, he saw it was almost empty. There would be enough for his cereal, but that would it. Zack or Mom might also want some, and it wouldn't be right to finish it himself.

He stared at his food for a second, tilting his head figuring out what to do. He could just take a little milk, but then it tasted yucky. And he wasn't hungry enough to eat yucky food.

Who said he had to have cereal though? Mom had made other things for breakfast before, like eggs and toast, and sometimes things like bacon and sausage too. Who said he couldn't? His little mouth grew into a smile at the infinite possibilities. He opened up the fridge again and glanced around, figuring out what he had to work with.

There were a few eggs left, bread, some ham and turkey from the deli, some cheese, and several cans of pop. Cody realized that pop wasn't good for breakfast so he ignored that and wondered what he could do with the rest. Eggs were a good breakfast food so he grabbed a few of those and set them on the counter. Toast was also good so he got a loaf of bread out as well. That would probably be good, so he grabbed a skillet out of the cabinet and placed it on the stove. After getting a stool, so he could reach far enough, he turned the stove on, careful not to burn himself like Zack had before. Those big bubbly things didn't look like much fun when his brother got them on his hand.

After letting the stove warm up for a couple minutes, he brought the eggs over to it, trying to remember how to open them. There wasn't a top to pull or box to open. This might be harder than he thought. He'd seen his mom tap them on the edge of the skillet before so maybe that's what he was supposed to do.

He tried it, but it just made a small crack, not enough to get the insides out. He tried again, this time with more force, but it was too much and the egg goop splashed out on his hand and the stove and everywhere.

Cody jumped back in surprise, running to the sink to wash the egg stuff off his hand before returning to the stove. Sad at the mess he made, he got several paper towels and began cleaning it up. However, he forgot the stove was still on, and found the towel started to get really warm. When he released what he did, he ran the towel to the sink and turned on the cold water, thankful to avoid a disaster.

Cody walked back over to the eggs, determination filling his gazed as he starred at the little white objects. He was going to give this one more try, and wouldn't make a mess. He just had to find a good mix of gentleness and toughness as he cracked the egg. Carefully knocking the egg against the side of the pan, he made a small dent in it, bigger than the first time but didn't break it yet. He then carefully gripped the two sides of the egg and pulled it apart, letting the yellow stuff fall into the pan.

He smiled in triumph, figuring out the solution to this problem all by himself. He then went for the remaining two eggs and cracked them the same way, filling the pan with the three eggs. Never again would he be defeated by not knowing how to open an egg.

The eggs were in the pan, and the pan was on the hot stove, so now what was he supposed to do? He looked at the eggs, seeing the three big yellow blobs and he remembered eating them before, but the egg juice would leak out and make a mess, and he didn't like that. There was another way to make them though; he could make scrambled eggs. He wasn't sure exactly how, but he knew it involved mixing them up with something. He got a spoon out of the silverware cabinet, and began mixing the eggs up in the pan.

He paused for a minute, trying to see if the eggs were done yet. They didn't look quite right, so he figured that meant he had to cook them longer. After looking at them, he wondered if there was anything else he could add that would make them better. He jumped to the cabinet that had various powders and spices. His eyes light up upon seeing the black container with Hershey across the label. Hershey meant chocolate, and everyone liked chocolate. He grabbed the container out of the cabinet and rushed over to the eggs, sprinkling a little bit of the black powder on them. After he did that, the eggs looked like they did after Mom had cooked them, so that must mean they were done, he moved them around, trying to spread the yummy Hershey stuff in them before taking the pan off the stove.

He eyed it wearingly wondering if it was actually done after he set the skillet on the counter. The eggs looked right, and the chocolate had melted, so he guessed that was good enough. After turning the stove off, he got on the stool again and stretched as high as he could reach to open the cabinet where the toaster was. As he got it down though, he was shocked by the weight and began learning backwards, but stabilized himself before taking a step back and placing it on the counter.

After taking a deep breath, he approached the surprisingly heavy metal object and put the bread in it. While the metal things turned red, Cody turned back to the eggs, a little afraid that his strange combination wouldn't be any good. The toast popped up out the toaster which gave him an idea. He liked McDonald's breakfast sandwiches, so why couldn't he do the same or perhaps even better?

Cody walked over to the fridge and opened it up again, scanning the contents. He grabbed several slices of cheese, since all sandwiches needed cheese. He also got the ham out since both he and Zack liked that. Putting the toast on the plate, he knew it was time to put all this together and hope it worked. He un-wrapped the cheese and put that down first, allowing the toast to melt it. Then he carefully scooped some eggs onto each piece, trying not to spill much. After that the ham, and the top piece of bread and he finished his sandwiches.

"Perfect!" Cody exclaimed with glee, proud to see his masterpiece.

He took the plates over to the table, shoving his books to the side and imagined how great it would be when he saw both his mom and brother enjoy his tasty breakfast. He wanted to take a bite for himself, but knew that would be rude and he needed to wait. Glancing over at the kitchen counter, he saw the mess that he made so he ran back over there to clean it up, knowing that his mom would be really tired and not want to do it, and Zack would never clean up a mess he wasn't responsible for, and even then, that was rare.

Cody grabbed a couple paper towels, but seeing that the role was running low, tried to get as few as possible and ran some water over them before cleaning up the crumbs that fell among the counter. He then put the skillet in the sink and began washing the egg stuff off of it.

The sound of a door squeaking caught his attention so he turned and saw his mom coming out from her room. He had seen that his mom would sometimes just leave the dishes in the water so they'd be easier to clean so he figured that would be good enough for now, especially now that he had a chance to share his masterpiece with her.

"Mommy, look what I made!" Cody said, excitement filling every fiber of his small body.

"You made breakfast?" Carey asked, noting the food on the table and seeing that there wasn't a fire, so she knew it wasn't Zack's doing.

"Well, I was hungry, and we didn't have enough milk for all of us to have cereal so I thought I'd try making something else," he said slightly worried. He remembered when his dad yelled at Zack for being careless around the stove and burning himself, so he hoped his mom wouldn't be mad.

"You want to wake Zack up so he can join us?" Carey said, a smile beaming across her face showing Cody that she was proud of him, causing a smile to spread across his face as well.

"I'll be right back!" Cody said excitingly rushing off to wake Zack up. He couldn't wait until both his mom and his brother got to try his sandwiches. Mom would be really happy, and then Zack would forget about him crying himself to sleep the night before. He opened the door and flicked the lights on, seeing Zack stir slightly in response. "Hey Zack, breakfast is ready!"

Zack mumbled something incoherent as he stirred, getting his head out of the somehow tangled blankets and stared at his brother, trying to figure out what had happened. However, before he could, his stomach alerted him to the word breakfast, causing him to toss the blanket to the side and jump to the floor. Zack then ran out of the room, nearly losing his balance by going from sleeping to running so quickly, but he wouldn't let that separate him from his food.

"What's there to eat Mom?" Zack asked excitedly.

"Your brother made it; let him tell you."

Cody's heart was racing as he went to explain what he made. "Well, I was hungry and wanted cereal, but we didn't have enough milk for everyone, so I wanted to make something, and since we like eggs, I tried that, but then thought that chocolate was good, so I added a little bit of chocolate, and then thought that sandwiches are good so I made toast, and put some ham and eggs on it." Cody let out a big breath after he sped through that explanation.

Carey tilted her head, suspicious of the idea of eggs and chocolate together, but she knew she had to at least try her son's creation. It was probably better than most of the things she cooked anyway. She sat down and picked up one of the sandwiches and took a bite, the odd sweet addition perplexing her taste buds, but it was pretty good. "Wow, this is really good Cody."

Zack had no qualms about adding chocolate to anything. The only bad thing about that was that it made things unhealthy, but he didn't really know what unhealthy meant, so it must not be too important. He took a small bit of it, it not tasting much different from those McDonalds breakfast sandwiches, which in his mind was the best restaurant ever. He took several more bites, Cody's creativity now reaching his taste buds. He tilted his head, his mind unable to process what his tongue was telling him. It wasn't that this was bad, at least, he didn't think it was. It wasn't what he was expecting. His face contorted though a variety of expressions, not sure of which one was accurate.

Cody picked up on this. Was his breakfast really that bad? He took a bite of his sandwich too, hoping it would be really good. However, after tasting it, he knew that it wasn't right. How stupid could he be, thinking that chocolate should be for breakfast. Chocolate was for desert or for sneaking treats out of the snack cabinet.

"This sucks," Cody said setting his breakfast down.

"Don't say that Cody," Carey said, putting an arm around her son. "It was really good."

"No it wasn't," he said, shaking his head. He knew parents were supposed to lie to them and say things were good even when they weren't.

"It was different, but that doesn't make it bad," she said, trying to respond to her son's capacity for logic. "Right Zack?"

Zack still wasn't sure what to make of this meal. It was edible, and better than some of his mom's failed attempts at cooking, that was for sure. It wasn't right though, his tongue told him that some things weren't supposed to be for breakfast. "I don't like it," he said, shaking his head.

At this, Cody's heart sank. He knew that Zack was honest. Carey had warned him before about being nice and that sometimes being vague was for the best. However, that lesson never stuck with Zack.

"I knew it was a bad idea," a defeated Cody said, his head hanging in shame.

That wasn't the response Carey was hoping for from Zack.

"It's okay, you don't have to eat it if you don't want to," he added after a several second pause.

"Of course we'll eat it," she said, adding as much enthusiasm as she could, "After you worked so hard to make it, why wouldn't we?"

Cody smiled at this as the rest of his family began eating again. However, he knew better than to think that they really liked it. Yet, he pretended that he was happy. He didn't want to be a burden on his mom anymore. He knew there were times where she just wanted to rest or go to work, but he wanted her there with him and Zack. She had told them that she might not be around as often as they wanted because of having to work a lot. He wouldn't be selfish and keep her from her job.

"Thank you so much for breakfast Cody," Carey said after she finished her sandwich.

"You're welcome Mommy."

Carey got up from the table and set the plate in the sink. She turned the water on letting it fill up before leaving the plate there and going to her bedroom to change. She had another long shift ahead of her, but the good news was she would be able to get off early so she could spend Christmas Eve with her kids and then be off Christmas day.

"This really isn't too bad," Zack said once their mom had left the room.

"I know that you're just trying to be nice," Cody said before walking to their room, leaving Zack speechless. He should have known that it would take something more than that to help his brother, but that was all his mind could come up with.


	3. Chapter 3: Christmas Eve: Part 2

**Christmas Eve: Part 2**

_Mommy, you were always somewhere,  
And Daddy, I live out of town,  
So tell me how could I ever be, normal somehow?  
You tell me this is for the best,  
So tell me why am I in tears?  
(Woo) so far away and now I just need you here,_

The little boy sat on his bed again, resting his back against the wall and held his head in his hands. He should have known he wouldn't make a good cook, that was something for grown-ups to do, not little kids. Why did he even try? After all, there was a reason adults did all the cooking, they didn't make dumb mistakes like that. He just wanted to do something to make his Mom happy, but that didn't work. Instead, he just made it harder for her because she had to try to make him happy again. It wasn't right; she worked so hard, he needed to be able to take care of himself. Especially with her always gone, he didn't want her to waste what little time she had here comforting him.

Cody's mind wandered through the past few months, thinking about all the times they moved. He thought about the night where it was way past his bedtime, but he couldn't sleep. He got up out of the bed room of their apartment and saw his parents arguing and they looked really mad. They were saying some words that Cody didn't know, and when he asked Carey what they meant several days later, she said they were bad words that shouldn't be used.

Then the next day was really strange. Even though it was a Wednesday, she didn't make them go to school. Instead they packed up all their clothes and other stuff in their mom's van and were told they were going to go to Grandma's house for a while. Cody tried to ask his mom several times why they were going all of a sudden, but she just said that she'd talk to them about it later, and that they might be there for a while. Zack didn't complain much, though he was kind of mad to be missing his friends at school, but he pushed that thought to the side and was instead just glad to get to see his Grandparents.

It was that night that the twins learned what 'divorce' meant.

It was late at night and the twins were dressed in their pajamas ready to go to bed in the guest room. However, their mom told them that they needed to have an important talk. Their mom explained that she and their dad wouldn't be living together anymore and it wouldn't be like when he was gone for a few weeks and then would come back. There were a lot of questions from the twins, wondering why it had happened, what it meant, and if they would ever see their dad again. They were told that it would take some time but they'd get used to this new life.

And, they did, eventually.

After about a week they got used to their new home, Carey enrolled her kids in school there. It was in May so they didn't have much of the year to go, but even though it was just for a few weeks, it felt like an eternity. There were new people, new classes, new teachers, and a strange new building that with one wrong turn would take the twins into a never-ending labyrinth. At first it seemed like everyone ignored the two who were randomly added to the class. Everyone already had their friends, there was no need to talk to the new kids who seemed to be content with each other.

Cody hated that school. That was one thing that he didn't miss when they moved to their current apartment near the end of August. He heard his mom talking about wanting to get out on her own again and then soon after that, they were in New Haven at the place they called home for the past few months. By all standards, it seemed like things were normal. Carey found a job, the twins were doing okay in school, and they had a decent enough place to live.

However, for all that good in his life, the little boy knew that things weren't as they should be.

His mom seemed to always be at one of her two jobs or sleeping, and the little free time she had was spent cleaning or just being too tired to do anything. His Dad was across the country. He stared at his map of the United States hanging and counted the various colored states that currently separated them. Last Cody knew, his dad was in Texas, the big block at the bottom of the map. Seven states down and four to the left. And that's where the snow was keeping him.

He heard his mom call out an "I love you" before the door closed behind her and she was off to work again. Cody wished that his mom would have at least come in the room to say good-bye to him, but he knew she was too busy to. After all, that's why he made sure she didn't know how sad he was, so she could go to work and not be late again because of him. At least they would be together for Christmas, which was only a day away.

More than the presents he would get the next day, Cody was mostly happy that his mom was going to be home all day with them. It had been a long time since they'd all been together for a full day. Although, it wouldn't quite be all of them. No, Dad was still far away, in another town, another state, it might as well have been another world.

The young boy pulled his knees up to his chest, feeling like that somehow protected him and began crying again. He wasn't sure why, and he knew it wouldn't do any good, but that didn't do anything to stop his tears. All he could think about was how his mom was always busy and that his dad was out of town. He remembered his mom telling him many times that this would be for the best and that everything would work out, but if this was so, why was he in tears so often?

The door cracked open, and though tear stained eyes he saw his brother standing there.

_So we fight, (so we fight)  
Through the hurt, (through the hurt)  
And we cry and cry and cry and cry,  
And we live, (and we live)  
And we learn, (and we learn)  
And we try and try and try and try_

Zack stared at his brother for a second, seeing how dumb he was. He knew that cooking was really hard, he had managed to make their old microwave explode the last time he tried, and not only had Cody not blown anything up, he managed to make edible food. True, it wasn't the best, but Zack should have told Cody that he did a good job.

"Hey Cody," Zack said, uneasily taking a seat on the end of Cody's bed. "You okay?"

"I guess so," he answered, wiping the tears with his sleeve and willing himself to stop crying. He didn't want to bother Zack anymore. He knew he messed breakfast up, and he didn't want Zack to waste his time comforting a brother who was such a baby that always cried over little things.

Zack sighed, he wanted to do something to make his brother feel better, but he just didn't know what. He couldn't cook like Cody could, and if he tried, he'd probably ruin whatever he tried making. "Want to play video games?" Zack offered.

"Not really," Cody said, burying his face deeper into his jeans.

That wasn't the answer Zack was hoping for. "What about playing out in the snow?"

Cody shook his head. It was already chilly in here and he didn't want to get covered in snow which would make it even worse.

"How about we go down to the lobby and pull pranks on the other guests? I need your help coming up with one they won't catch us for."

Cody lifted his head, giving Zack hope as he pondered this, thinking that it would get his mind off this mess, but he just didn't feel up to it. "No thanks Zack."

That was all the older twin had. He hated seeing his brother so sad, but he was powerless to do anything about it. Hoping something would come to him, he continued trying. He scooted closer, wrapping his arm around his brother trying to give him a reassurance of some kind. "Come on Cody, it's Christmas Eve, let's do something fun." Cody was still unresponsive. "Just think about those presents that we'll get tomorrow, won't those be great?"

"I guess."

Then it hit him, he just had to get Cody a great Christmas present and that would make him happy again. Luckily they were close to a Walmart, and Walmart sold everything. He had some money too because Grandma sent them each ten dollars in a card for Christmas. That would be enough to find something great.

Zack got up from the bed, made his way over to his dresser, snuck the money out of it, and shoved it into his pocket before Cody could see what he was doing.

_So it's up to you,  
And it's up to me,_

"I know you're sad Cody," Zack said sitting back down, not wanting to leave his brother without at least trying one more time to make him happy. Cody nodded slightly in response.

"I don't know when Dad will be here, but I know he'll come one of these days, and remember Mom said she's only working so much until she finds a better job."

"But when?"

"I don't know Codes." Zack knew there was so much that he didn't know. He wanted to promise Cody that everything would be all right and go back to normal with all their family together again. But, he didn't want to break that promise, like Dad had in not being able to come on the most important day of the year. There was one promise he could make he sure would come true. "It doesn't matter though," Zack finally said, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them.

"Why?"

"Because I will make you happy again if they make you sad." Zack gently took a hold of Cody's chin and lifted it so they were staring each other in the eye. "I promise."

Cody wanted to break away not wanting to let his heart latch up to another promise that would fall through, but, he didn't. He had no reason not to believe Zack. They had been through this whole mess together. When their parents split, they had stayed together. When they moved away from their old friends, they stayed together. When they were ignored in the halls of the new school, they stayed together. Cody knew that would continue no matter what happened to them next.

"Thanks Zack."

"Promise me something too."

"What?"

"If I'm ever sad or don't know what to do, I can come to you and you'll make me feel better."

"Okay, I will," Cody said, a small smile spreading across his face. He was still sad, especially because people always felt the need to cheer him up, but now he knew he could help Zack if he ever needed it.

"Come on, let's go watch cartoons."

"Okay," Cody said getting up from the bed. He picked up his blue blanket that his dad had given him when he was little and walked into the other room with Zack, feeling a lot better as he entered the room.

Zack was smiling too. He wasn't sure quite how he did it, but he was glad that Cody wasn't sad anymore. He'd make sure Cody was okay for a little while and then he'd go get Cody the greatest Christmas present ever.


	4. Chapter 4: Christmas Eve: Part 3

**Christmas Eve: Part 3**

_And we meet in the middle,  
On our way back down to earth,  
Down to earth_

A couple hours passed along with several different shows that neither of the twins remembered as soon as the commercials came on. Although, Zack was paying attention to the commercials, seeing things that Cody would like, and that he was sure Walmart would have. There were so many things that would be awesome, like that new Lego set, or one of those board games, or even that game-cube; he wanted to get them all, but didn't think ten dollars would be enough.

"I'm gonna go now," Zack said as he got up from the couch.

"Where?"

"It's a secret," he answered, hoping that would be enough to satisfy his brother's curiosity.

"Can I come too?"

Zack could tell his brother didn't want to be left alone, but it would ruin the surprise if he came along shopping with him.

"But that would ruin the surprise, and you like surprises, right?"

Cody nodded, not completely buying what Zack was saying.

"I won't be long, I just need to go talk to a friend and then I'll come back, okay?"

"Okay," Cody answered as the next show came on, grabbing his attention enough to forgive Zack for leaving.

Grateful for the distraction of television, Zack grabbed his coat and zipped it up as far as he could along with pulling his hood up and snapping it shut. He even grabbed the gloves, knowing how cold it was and that Walmart was over five buildings down the road. "I'll be back soon Cody." Zack heard a slight chuckle escape Cody's month as he focused on the TV, assuring him that he would be all right.

_On our way back down to earth, (on our way back down to earth)  
Back down to earth_

Zack walked down to the elevator where their neighbor, Miss Sanchez, was also waiting for it.

"Merry Christmas Eve Zack," she said.

"You too," he said as the doors opened and the two of them stepped inside. While he might have physically been in the small space with her, his heart and mind were far away.

"Don't you just love this time of year," she said, in what he thought was too excited of a tone for a grown-up. "We have all the Christmas specials on TV, all the family gatherings and my personal favorite, you can eat like a pig and no one will care."

"I guess," Zack said with a shrug. He liked Miss Sanchez because she gave him and his brother candy from time to time, but he still thought she was a bit weird.

"Someone needs some more Christmas spirit," she said pulling a candy cane out of her purse.

"Oh thanks," he said, eagerly taking the sugary treat.

"Here's one for your brother too."

He took that one and put it in his pocket for later. Maybe that would help cheer Cody up if he was sad again, or he could always just save it for himself. Cody didn't have to know.

The elevator door opened and Zack ran for the door, sure that he would be able to find the perfect gift for Cody.

_Back down to earth_

Zack made his way through the snow and ice covered streets remembering how easy it was to slip. Cody had fallen more than once on their way to the bus, one time he tried grabbing onto his brother's shoulder and dragged him down too. Zack smiled at the memory as he walked, not seeing a patch of ice and his right foot slipped out from under him, causing him to reach out for a luckily nearby light pole to steady himself. 'That was close,' he thought continuing on his way, seeing the largest store ever only one street crossing away.

He stepped up to the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. He waited, and waited, and waited some more, for what had to be at least 15 seconds, when it finally changed. Taking a quick glance to make sure no cars were coming, he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him across the street.

And there he was, the great building stretching off as far as his eye could see, filled with what had to be the perfect gift for his brother. He walked through the lot, keeping an eye out for cars driving by and tried to step over the slush along the ground, not wanting it to get into his shoe.

He walked through the automatic doors and heard a small sound that caught his attention. It was a small whine, and he turned to see a cardboard box with several puppies in it. Above it stood a boy, not much older than him holding a sign saying, 'Free to a good home.'

"Are those yours?" Zack asked, which got one of the dog's attentions.

"Yeah, but Dad doesn't want to keep them, so I'm trying to find someone to take them," the boy explained.

Zack bent down, sticking his hand in the box, which caused one of the puppies to attack it, striking the palm with sharp teeth and a wet tongue. Zack reflexively brought his hand back, causing the dog to bark at him. It wagged its tail eagerly and panted, staring up into Zack's eyes.

"What's his name?"

"That one is Justin."

Zack reached his hand back in the box, trying to pet the dog, though Justin thought the hand was something to attack so responded by wrapping its little paws around the boy's hand. Zack pushed the dog off his hand, causing Justin to fall on his back, but he quickly got up, more excited than ever to play with this person.

"He likes you," the boy said.

"I like him too," Zack responded. At this, an idea struck Zack. Maybe the only present he needed was right in front of him. Already, the animal had brought him so much happiness, that it would be the perfect thing to cheer Cody up.

"Maybe you should ask your parents if you could adopt him."

The boy's suggestion both made Zack's heart soar and shatter into a million pieces. On one hand, he was being offered the perfect gift to make his brother happy, but on the other, his mom wasn't anywhere near here, and he was sure she'd say no.

"I'll go get her," Zack lied as he ran into the store, needing time to think of a plan. He needed to find a way to get Cody that dog, but he had no idea how. He could wait until Carey got off work and ask her, though he had a feeling she'd say no, and with a dog that great, he was sure that it would be too late by then. Maybe he could get someone to pretend to be his mom or dad, and they could help him get the puppy. Though, he was always told not to talk to strangers, and that lying was bad so he didn't think these people would be willing to help him. He thought about trying to find Miss Sanchez, she wasn't a stranger, and he might be able to convince her to help because it was in the Christmas spirit or something. That might work.

As Zack made his way back through the aisles of the store, he caught sight of the pet care aisle and figured the puppy would need something to eat. He grabbed a box of dog treats and a small rope toy figuring that would last the puppy a little while. After paying for those, he made his way out of the store.

"Hey Zack!" the boy with the dogs called, causing him to run over to see them. "You able to talk to your parents?"

"Not yet." That was true.

"Well you better hurry, two other puppies have been taken so Justin might not be here long."

Oh no, this could be bad. He had to find Miss Sanchez fast and hope his plan worked.

"Um, okay," Zack said hesitantly, not sure what to say at a time like this.

"Hold on, I think my dad is calling me," the boy said walking a few feet away and talking to someone Zack couldn't see.

"Hey Justin," Zack said, petting the puppy again which obviously remembered him. The dog stared at Zack, giving the elder twin an idea. The boy was distracted with his dad, and there were still several puppies in the box. He could just take Justin and run, and then have Cody's present. However, at this, he felt a strange sensation in him that told him that was a bad idea. Thinking about it for a brief second, he knew it was wrong. Although, the boy said that he thought he should take Justin, and once he saw how happy the puppy would make Cody, Carey would have to say yes. He would ask his mom, just not yet, and the boy did tell him to hurry, so it wasn't completely wrong? Right?

Zack took a quick glance to make sure the boy was still distracted and reached down and picked up the puppy, who responded by wagging his little tail even more. "Come on Justin, you're going to make Cody so happy."

_Back down to earth_

After getting what he hoped was a safe distance from the store, Zack slid the puppy into his coat to keep him warm, though he made sure there was a hole in the zipper so he could see. He then took off through the sidewalks, hoping to get home and then find a place to hide Justin until he could surprise his brother on Christmas morning. This was going to be the best Christmas ever.

"Almost there Justin," he said as he approached the front of the apartment complex. He couldn't believe how fast he flew through the streets and didn't even come close to slipping at all. He opened the door, welcoming the blast of warm air that rejuvenated his body, and more importantly, Justin's little body. He was so small, so couldn't have liked the cold much.

As Zack walked into the elevator he caught sight of a sign that made his heart sink. _'Restrictions of pets in the complex.'_

He should have thought about that before, since they lived in a place like this, they might not allow dogs. Zack briefly glanced down at the dog in his coat, before nervously drawing his attention back to the sign. He slowly read each point, seeing if there was anything that wouldn't allow him to keep Justin, and if there was, if he could find a way around that.

'_Rule 1: No elephants or animals that cannot fit through the doors.'_

Okay, he was good on that one.

'_Rule 2: Penguins are strictly forbidden.'_

That seemed like an odd rule.

'_Rule 2a: Killer penguins are an exception to rule 2.'_

Zack tilted his head, trying to make sense of that last rule, but shrugged it off for now, knowing that it didn't affect him or Justin at the moment.

'_Rule 3: Dogs are allowed as long as they are less than 50 pounds and do not disrupt the other tenants.'_

Zack wasn't exactly sure how much Justin weighed, but he was sure it was less than fifty pounds. "You won't disrupt the other tenants, will you?" Zack asked.

Justin made a noise that Zack assumed was one of reassurance, so he it looked like he would be in the clear. With that worry past him, Zack made his way to the elevator which opened right as he got there.

He stepped in and pressed the four to take him back to his room, but just as the doors went to close, he heard Miss Sanchez calling and rushing to the elevator. He stepped to the side hoping she didn't see him. He didn't want to let anyone else know about his dog until Cody saw him tomorrow morning. However, she was faster than he thought and made it to the elevator just in time to stop it from closing. Zack zipped his coat up the rest of the way, hiding Justin and the bag from her, hoping that they could just have a nice quiet ride up to their floor.

He then remembered who he was riding with.

"Whew, it sure is cold out there, isn't it Zack?"

"I guess so," he responded, shifting Justin inside his coat hoping to make the lump less evident.

"I can't believe I thought it would be fun moving here from California. I mean there, we never got snow. Cold was fifty degrees, but that would be a heat wave here. I'm pretty sure my hairspray froze solid."

Justin responded to that with a small bark.

"Was that you?" she asked.

"Um, yeah, I was practicing my dog impression," Zack said as he tried to come up with a better lie.

"Wow, that was really realistic."

"What was Christmas like in California?" Zack asked, sure that would take his neighbor off the current subject.

"Oh, it was wonderful, so many great memories there." His plan worked. "I remember when I was just a little girl when my mom and sister and I moved to our new house. It was a palace, three bedrooms, two baths, we all had our own room, and it was awesome. I remember that Christmas Eve, I didn't expect much for Christmas, already having the best present possible in my new home, but there were still a few gifts, which I might have peaked at a few times. I became really good at rewrapping presents," she said with a chuckle. "We spent Christmas Eve in our pajamas, drinking hot cocoa, playing board games and watching Christmas specials. Santa got an extra helping of chocolate chip cookies that year because in the end we didn't have much, but we had each other and I guess that's all you can ask for."

Zack smiled, seeing why Miss Sanchez liked Christmas so much. It wasn't that she received all kinds of extravagant gifts or anything, but it was because she had something much more valuable. Having his family together and happy, that's what Zack truly wanted for Christmas. He could do without any new toys or games, if he could just have that one thing. And he hoped the dog in his coat could help make that happen.

The door opened and Zack burst out of the elevator, waving bye to Miss Sanchez with one hand and keeping his dog safe with his other. All he had to do now was find a place to hide Justin until tomorrow morning. He had a couple old shoe boxes in his closet that could work. He just hoped that Justin would be quiet until then. He'd throw in a couple of the treats and the toy to keep him occupied. He rounded the corner to his apartment slid the key in the door and stepped inside.

"Hey Zack," his mom said.

There went that perfect plan…

"Hi Mom, what are you doing home so early?" he asked trying to figure out where he could hide Justin before she figured out what he was doing. _'Please don't bark.'_

"My boss was nice enough to let me go home early because we weren't busy." He could swear that he sensed a little bit of sadness in her voice, but right now, he had more important things to worry about. His eyes darted around the room, especially the kitchen. The fridge was too cold, the cabinets had too many things for Justin to knock over. The microwave! "I'm thirsty," Zack said, using that as an excuse to run over to the kitchen. He grabbed a cup, turned the knob and let it fill up while as stealthy as possible opened the microwave, pulled Justin out of his coat and put him in the cooking appliance. He knew this could go badly, but really couldn't think of a better option.

After chugging the water, he set the cup aside and went to see how his brother was doing. He opened the bedroom door to see Cody occupying himself with their Nintendo. Zack breathed a sigh of relief seeing that his brother at least appeared to be happier. "How are you doing?" Zack asked taking a seat beside his brother on the bed and discreetly slipping the bag under the bed.

"This stage is really hard," Cody said as he focused his attention on the enemies that were attacking his character.

"Just hit them all at once so they can't damage you," Zack suggested, knowing that was far easier said than done. The game continued Cody doing better than normal, getting through the first ten enemies without much of a problem. "You can do it."

"It's not over yet," Cody said as one of the foes struck him with a damaging combo, but that one was also quickly defeated. The thirty foes had dwindled to only five, but Cody was down to his last life and had already taken a lot of damage. A precise attack dwindled the number of foes to three, but one hit him, sending his character flying off the platform. However, using skillful midair recovering, Cody made it back striking one of the foes with his recovering attack. Another one came after him, but a dodge set him up for the perfect finish, making it only a one on one battle which Cody didn't have a problem winning.

"Great job bro," Zack said while Cody leaned back against the bed, not believing he actually made it this far. There was only one battle left, the final boss.

Sadly, Cody was unable to win that battle, but it was the closest he had ever gotten, and he was sure with another try or two, he could win.


	5. Chapter 5: Christmas Eve: Final

**Christmas Eve: Final**

_I felt so far away,  
From where we used to be,  
And now we're standing,  
And where do we go, when there's no road (no road) to get to your heart?  
Let's start over again!_

A couple hours passed and Carey called her sons out of their room, deciding it was time for one of her favorite Christmas traditions. "What's going on Mom?" Cody asked.

"It's time to watch the Grinch," Carey said, loving how it was a movie both she and her sons could enjoy.

"Awesome!" Zack exclaimed. He remembered how sad Cody was when it looked like they might have lost that movie when they moved, but then how happy he was when it had somehow been packed in another box.

Cody grabbed the blue blanket his dad and gotten him several Christmases ago off the couch and spread it out so there would be enough room for both him and Zack. Carey pressed the play button the on the VCR and the classic Dr. Suess voice echoed through the small living room. A few minutes into the movie, Carey heard her sons' stomachs rumbling and realized she was hungry as well. "You guys want some popcorn?"

"Sure," Cody answered.

"I'll go throw a bag in the microwave then," she said as she got up from her seat.

At this, Zack's eyes went wide as saucers remembering who was still in the microwave. "No I'll get it!" Zack said, jumping up from the coach. "That way you can keep watching the movie." He knew that sounded like a lame cover for a lie.

"Um okay," she said, a bit suspicious, but she already had enough things on her mind, so she'd let that one go.

Zack went over to the shelves and got down a bag of popcorn and then opened the microwave to see Justin sleeping in there, his little head resting on his toy. The boy smiled at the sight as he gently scooped the dog out of there along with his toy and put the popcorn in there. After setting the microwave for five minutes, he began walking to his room, thankful that his family was laughing too hard at the movie to notice what he was doing.

Justin looked up at him wondering why he was disturbed from his nap and wagged his tail at seeing his owner. Zack really loved this dog, even though he had only been around it for a little while.

They slid into the twins' bedroom and Zack swiftly turned on the lights and went to work. He opened up the closet, seeing one of the shoeboxes. He opened it up and put the dog inside, who seemed disappointed by his new cage, but after tossing a treat and the toy in there, Justin didn't seem to mind. "You be a good boy, okay?" Zack said as he slid the lid on top and made sure there were still a couple holes to let air in.

Zack went out of the bedroom just as the popcorn was starting to pop and it didn't look like his family noticed him being gone. He let out a sigh of relief, seeing that his secret was safe and now he could focus on enjoying the movie.

Several moments passed and the popcorn was finished. Luckily, Carey had told Zack to stop it at the right time, where they didn't burn any, but still most of them popped. Carey then opened the bag herself, wanting to make sure the steam didn't burn Zack from him opening it hastily, something she was sure he'd do. Zack then returned to the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and took his place next to his brother, where he promptly returned his attention to the movie.

Though all the chaos of the past few months, times like this reminded them of the family they truly had. There was still stress and problems that they would soon need to face, but in this moment, lost in the conflicts of Whoville, those seemed a thousand miles away. Though they had heard the jokes many times before, it was as new to them as the first snowfall of the season.

The hours passed and the movie concluded, the Grinch seeing the error of his ways and embracing the holiday he once hated. It may have been a cheesy story line, but the kids were entranced by it, and Carey found herself lost in the world of make believe as well.

"All right, it's time for bed," Carey said and the two of them got up from the couch, stretching their stiff bodies.

"But I'm not tired yet," Cody said through a yawn, suddenly noticing how sleepy he was.

"Come on Codes, let's go to bed so we can get up early and see all the presents Santa brought us."

Carey looked down, unnoticed by her sons. She knew Santa wouldn't be bringing them a lot this year. She had told them that they might not get much, but hoped they'd enjoy what little she had managed to buy for them.

"You just want to open presents sooner, don't you?" Cody said with a smile.

"Yep." Zack wasn't lying; he did want them to open presents their presents sooner, but not his own as much as Cody's. No. More than anything, he wanted for Cody to open up that shoe box with the dog wrapped inside.

The twins made their way to the room and changed into their pajamas, their minds raced with thoughts of Christmas morn, but they also knew they had to force their bodies to sleep; it would truly be a challenge for the young boys.

_So it's up to you,  
And it's up to me,  
And we meet in the middle, on our way back down to earth,  
Down to earth, (down to earth)  
Down to earth,  
On our way back down to earth,_

Nearly an hour passed and even after much tossing and turning, the boys couldn't bring themselves to fall asleep. With their minds rushing so much, there was no way to be calm enough to sleep. After seeing Cody toss in his bed one more time, Zack started talking to alleviate himself from the boredom of waiting. "Still awake Codes?"

"Yeah. You can't sleep either?"

"I'm too excited." Zack thought about the shoebox under his bed and the puppy in it that he figured was having a much easier time of sleeping than he was. "You too?"

"Kind of. I'm also thinking about Dad too."

"I almost forgot about that," Zack said in a softer tone, not wanting to remember the broken promises.

"You think, maybe, he will still find a way to make it?" Cody knew how foolish he was being for even considering that possibility. Mom had told him that the snow was too bad for him to come. Even so, he still held out a small shred of hope, thinking that maybe he had been able to find a plane that could make it, that he'd be here on Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. It wasn't likely, no not at all, but Cody thought there could still be a chance of that happening.

Zack wasn't sure quite what to say. He wanted to fuel his brother's hope, to say that Dad would be out there when they awoke up in the morning, but knew that the odds weren't good and that it would just crush his brother again. Dad had already done that enough with his broken promise; he wasn't going to subject Cody to that again. If, somehow, Dad would be able to make it by the morning, then he'd let Cody be surprised then.

"It doesn't look like it Codes."

Cody let out a silent cry of disappointment, one that Zack instantly picked up on.

"But that doesn't mean we aren't still here. You have me and Mom."

"I guess so."

"And don't forget all those presents we'll be getting. Tomorrow is going to be awesome!"

Cody smiled slightly. Zack was right. Even without Dad, this Christmas would be great. He'd just pretend like it was like any other, that every other Christmas was just him, his brother, and his mom. He'd just forget that Dad wasn't with them. He'd just act like everything was normal, and then maybe, he could enjoy the great day that was coming.

"You're right," Cody said, "I'm getting tired so let's go to sleep."

"Night Cody."

"Night Zack."

Except, Cody wasn't really tired. He just didn't want to force Zack to talk to him if he was tired. He didn't want to admit that his heart was still broken, that he wanted to do nothing but cry. He had done that for a while when his mom was at work and Zack was, wherever it was that he went. It had helped some too, he could just release his emotions without worrying about what everyone else would think. Still, thinking about it again made him want to cry all over again.

Tears began streaming down his face though the soothing sensation of them allowed him to relax, allowing him to drift into sleep, where he was free from the pain.


	6. Chapter 6: Christmas Day

**December 25**

_I never thought that it'd be easy,_

Christmas day was upon them. Carey got up early and put the cinnamon rolls in the oven for the boys when they woke up. She wasn't going to let this chaotic year stop that tradition. As much as some things changed, some would stay the same; that she would make sure of.

After a while, breakfast had been cooking in the oven long enough for the delicious aroma to fill the house. This lured Zack out of bed as he made his way to the kitchen, noticing the presents sitting under the Christmas tree. There weren't as many as some years, but there were several for both him and Cody. "Making cinnamon rolls?" he asked, memories of their taste already filling his tongue.

"My boys' favorites."

"Awesome." Seeing that they would still take a while longer to cook, Zack made his way over to the pile of presents, seeing if he could figure out what they were before opening. He knew he'd get to see them soon, but that didn't stop his curiosity from demanding answers. There were several boxes, a couple bags, and a few packages covered in wrapping paper. He couldn't understand why some people used boxes and bags to wrap things, it was much more fun to open wrapping paper.

"You want to get your brother up?" Carey asked as she checked on the breakfast, making sure nothing was burning or on fire. She learned her lesson last year when she spent a good part of Christmas Day with the firemen.

"Cody, wake up, it's Christmas," Zack called into their room, causing his brother to roll out of bed and onto the floor.

"Ouch," Cody said rubbing the arm he landed on.

"You okay?" Zack asked, running to his brother.

"Yeah." He wasn't in too much pain, and it didn't feel like he was bleeding. Zack offered Cody a hand in getting up and after looking at the bruise on his arm, he decided it wasn't much to worry about.

"You ready for breakfast and presents?" Zack asked.

"Sure," Cody said, though it was only half hearted.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked.

"Nothing, I was just sleepy," Cody replied, with forced enthusiasm this time.

"Okay, let's go," Zack said, grabbing his brother's arm and dragging him out of their room.

Cody was glad Zack didn't press the issue further. He really didn't want to talk about the dream he had which really got to him.

_Cause we're both so distant now,_

He was back at his old house for Christmas, everyone was there. Mom, Dad, Zack, just as it should be. He and Zack were opening presents, overjoyed at everything they were getting. He didn't remember what those gifts were, it didn't matter. The important part was that his family was together having a good time.

Then it happened.

Everything started disappearing. First the gifts, they just vanished. Then the decorations, the tree, all the Christmas stuff. No one seemed to notice or care. They just went on with their time together, ignoring Cody's cries for answers.

Then things became really strange.

First Dad disappeared, and his family finally began taking notice. Zack and his mom glanced around, but before he knew it, she was gone too.

"Where is everyone?" Cody asked, as he and his brother both were filled with worry.

"I don't know," Zack said, staying close to his brother, worrying that whatever the strange force was would take him next.

"Don't leave me too."

"I'm not going to, I promise." Zack's promise gave Cody hope that they could make it through the strange situation.

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know; just stay with me Cody."

Then a dark wind blew through the room, the walls closing in on them.

"How do we escape?"

"I don't know," Zack admitted.

Soon an earthquake shook the room, knocking the twins over and separating them. Cody looked on, Zack too disappearing over the horizon, leaving the little boy all alone.

_And the walls are closing in on us and we're wondering how?_

Cody tried pushing thoughts of that dream aside once he caught sight of those scrumptious sweet rolls being pulled out of the oven. Their perfect fluffiness filled his mouth with saliva and his stomach let out a roar upon seeing the tantalizing streaks of cinnamon. He licked his lips in anticipation as his mom spread the sweet icing on the rolls.

"Hungry?" she asked, to which he eagerly nodded his head.

"There you go Cody." She set the plate on the table causing Cody to immediately sit down and grab his knife and fork to begin eating it. Zack soon joined his brother, though he decided that a knife and fork took too long so he picked up the cinnamon roll and shoved as much of it in his mouth as possible, not worrying about the icing getting all over his face and hands. Soon the twins were on their seconds and Zack even asked for a third, making Carey glad she decided to make two batches.

"Is it time for presents yet?" Zack eagerly asked, the sugar making him even more hyper than normal.

"Um, sure," Carey said finishing off her last bite while Cody's eyes lit up at the mention.

The three of them made their way over to the tree where the presents were stacked. Carey began sliding them out, the ones wrapped in red for Zack and blue for Cody.

"Go ahead Zack."

He didn't need any more encouragement than that to begin tearing through the wrapping paper, leaving it strewn along their living room floor. However, to his disappointment, it was just a heavy red Christmas sweeter. He couldn't play with that, so why did his mom think it would make a good gift? He shrugged though, there always seemed to be a couple presents that he didn't really want, but the rest of them normally made up for that. He set the shirt on the coffee table and waited for Cody to open his first gift.

Unlike Zack who always went after the biggest packages first, Cody grabbed the smallest of his, a little box no bigger than his shoe. He held it for a couple seconds, wondering what could be inside, and then un-wrapped it, leaving the paper in mostly one piece. Opening the cardboard box, he saw a new game for his game boy. He didn't recognize the title, but he looked forward to playing it. "Thanks mom."

"No problem." Truthfully, she wasn't sure if that would be a game he'd like. She just saw it was on sale at the used video game store, and that it had a safe rating, but she hoped she picked out a good one.

After seeing his brother get a video game, Zack was even more excited about what else could lie within the wrapping paper for his other presents. "My turn?" he eagerly asked.

"Go ahead Zack," Carey said with a grin, as he attacked his next present, shredding the paper into a million pieces and letting them fly across the living room floor. A smile raced across his face as the Nintendo game was revealed.

"Oh, wow, this is awesome, the new Star Wars game!" Zack was overjoyed at seeing the gift that he had said he wanted. He had bugged Santa at several of the malls, asking him for it. He found it strange that no matter how many times he told Santa what he wanted, the big man couldn't remember, but at least he did when it counted.

While there were only a couple more presents left under the tree, most of them being things they needed instead of things they really wanted, the twins were happy just to have their new games. However, Zack could tell his brother was still thinking about something, not being as excited as he normally was on Christmas morning.

"It looks like that's everything," Carey said, slightly depressed that she couldn't get anything else for them, though they didn't seem to mind.

"No it isn't," Zack said with a grin that was a mix of mischief and excitement. "There is one more gift that needs to be unwrapped."

"Where?" Cody asked, looking under the tree for something they had missed while Zack walked into his room. Carey said nothing, trying to figure out what her son was doing. Her question was soon answered when she saw her son emerge carrying a shoe back that seemed to have a couple small holes in it.

"Here you go Cody." Zack gently set the box down, grabbing one of the bows on the floor and sticking it on the box.

"What is it?" the younger twin asked curiously, especially when he heard something moving in the box. He picked up the lid and gently pried it open, to see the dog looking up at him. "A puppy," he said in little more than a whisper.

Justin looked around, trying to make sense of his new surroundings and these big people.

"For you Cody, his name is Justin," Zack said, giving his brother the encouragement to reach his hand in the box and gently stroke Justin's fur.

"It's so soft."

Justin wagged his tail in response, always enjoying the attention these people gave him. Cody's face beamed with joy, his smile wider than anything he had shown the past couple days. He couldn't believe it, this little dog, was his.

Cody looked on in wonder as the animal tried to jump out of the shoe box to explore his surroundings but couldn't get high enough. Seeing this, Zack reached in and pulled the puppy out, setting him down on the floor.

"There you go boy."

Seeing his new home, Justin went to work exploring it, starting with the paper all along the ground. It was lumpy, and felt strange, but he liked it, deciding to lay in it and scratch it and bite it. What more could a dog want than to be surrounded by the spoils of Christmas morn?

Forgetting the games he had just received, Cody got up and ran after the dog, getting his attention and then being chased around the room by him. Zack soon joined his brother and his pet, the small animal being surprisingly fast compared to the two boys. With Zack's help, Justin managed to knock Cody down giving him the perfect opportunity to assault his new owner's face with an onslaught of kisses causing Cody to squirm in delight.

This wasn't the Christmas morning he was expecting, no not at all, but he didn't care. Not everything came together as he had wished for, but that didn't mean it was any less fun. He had his brother, his mom, and now his new dog to spend Christmas day with. Sure, he wished his dad could be there too, but why let the one thing he didn't have stop him from enjoying all the things he did?


End file.
